Travesty
by freakanature06
Summary: The day the Berlin Wall falls, Gilbert is trying to remember what's on the other side - but he can't seem to remember the name of the most important person. PruAus, written for my Prussia. Rated for implied abuse.


A/N: I wrote this for my Prussia. She asked for a PruAus after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and... well... I love Kansas and was inspired by their song "The Wall". This was the result. XD I hope you enjoy it...!!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Neither Hetalia nor The Wall, though they are both absolutely amazing!**

Travesty

_Woven in a fantasy I can't believe the things I see  
The path that I have chosen now has led me to a wall_

It had been strange news to him. Strange news that he couldn't quite comprehend. After years - no, _decades_ of being trapped here, nearly starving, suffering along with his people and sometimes even worse than them, Gilbert Beilschmidt had been told that he was free. Released from the holding cell where he was often kept - though he was sometimes allowed out to walk amongst and talk to his people, just so he could see their suffering as well - he was gestured towards the exit.

And that was all.

Now, out in the sunlight, Gilbert had to squint to see for a few moments. His eyes had grown unaccustomed to large amounts of light, and they had never taken to it kindly to behind with. He could feel a headache pulsing at the back of his head, but he paid it no mind.

He was still trying desperately to work out what this meant for him as he trudged down the path towards the Wall - that terrible, ugly Wall that had taken to haunting the dreams of his people and his own dreams in consequence. Every step caused him to stumble slightly, and he even fell a couple of times, but he was drawn inexorably to the Wall as every citizen on this side was. They were free. They would soon make that freedom complete.

_And with each passing day  
I feel a little more like something dear was lost_

Slowly, the Wall grew nearer. Gilbert saw its ugly face and cringed at the sight, remembering dreams in which people - his people - died in the attempt to get over that Wall. He tried to block these memories out. Tried desperately to remember something from the other side - something good.

But the albino had to come to a dead stop when he suddenly realized that nothing was coming to mind. He had thought for sure that the happy things of his past were still at the forefront of his mind, but all he could remember was the cold and the pain and the anguish. Nothing about anything or anyone on the other side of that Wall. Nothing from when he was a child. Nothing about friends or family or…

Anything.

_It rises now before me the dark and silent barrier between  
All I am and all that I would ever want to be  
It's just a travesty, towering  
Marking off the boundaries my spirit would erase_

This wasn't right. He _knew_ that he had people on the other side, he just had to force himself to remember. It shouldn't be that hard! They had been a part of his life for so long - whoever they were.

As he set off again, Gilbert beat around his brain for something, anything, that he remembered that didn't have to do with this desolate place. There were faces. Lots of faces. But he couldn't focus on anything them long enough to bring anything to mind. There was someone particularly special, though. Someone… someone…

Someone that would make him whole. The other half of his being.

And immediately, with that thought, he remembered his brother. West. Once the Wall was down, he would be a part of the same country as the German. They would be one entity. A small smile twitched Gilbert's lips. Perhaps this was who he had been thinking of.

But the moment he came to that conclusion, it was washed away by a sudden, vivid image of dark hair and glasses and the sound of a piano and…

_To pass beyond is what I seek I fear that I may be too weak  
And those are few who've seen it through to glimpse the other side_

Gilbert shook his head quickly. The music was distracting and he had to keep thinking, though he wanted to listen to that piano so badly. He couldn't put a name to the face though. And the face seemed… so… welcoming.

The Wall was near now. He was less than a dozen feet from it and he came to a stop, staring at the blank surface as the crowd milled around him. There was blood on the Wall. Both metaphorically and physically. People had tried to get over this hunk of junk, and often were killed.

But really, that had been a better option than waiting it out on this side of the Wall. Things had gotten bad. Really bad. So bad that Gilbert hated to even think about it, trying to repress the images that had haunted his dreams. Images of his people broken, starving, pleading for death and giving up slowly on the dream that they would ever leave this horrible place.

It made him shudder violently.

_The promised land is waiting  
Like a maiden that is soon to be a bride_

As he stared at the Wall and saw the blue sky on the other side, the vague images came back to him more solidly. It crashed on him like a wave. People who had loved him, had hated to see him leaving, would want him back, if they hadn't forgotten about him at this point. His brother, yes. Ludwig. And that silly Italian of his, Feliciano, and his brother Lovino.

And then there was the face. The face that played the music. Gilbert's eyes filled with tears when he realized he still couldn't remember the name. But that was the man he missed the most. _Austria_. That was the only word that came to mind. No name. Just the country.

He didn't want to be one with his brother again. He wanted to be one with Austria. Hold him, hear his voice, smell the scent of him, feel the music as he played. The tears streamed down his face and the people around him wept with joy as well. They would be past this part of their lives soon. Very soon, they would be with loved ones again - loved ones that had been sealed off from them when the Wall was erected.

And Gilbert would see _him_ again.

_The moment is a masterpiece, the weight of indecision's in the air  
Standing there the symbol and the sum of all that's me  
It's just a travesty, towering  
Blocking out the light and blinding me, I wanna see_

Suddenly, silence fell upon the entire assembly. The tears still flowed, but everything was eerily silent as they stared down the image of their nightmares made solid. The concrete. The Wall.

There was palpable moment of hesitation. Everyone was afraid to move any closer to that thing of terror. That thing that had caused them such strife and killed so many people they all held dear. The looks cast around were helpless, uncertain, and Gilbert could feel it from all of them, and pitied them, and pitied himself because he was just as scared as they were.

Because what if it wasn't better on the other side? What if the Western part of Berlin had been going through the same hell they had and the just didn't know? What if they walked into the same world again, after all of this hope?

Or even worse - what if they had all been forgotten? What if their loved ones no longer remembered them, no longer wanted them?

It was a terrifying prospect and it struck Gilbert to the core.

But his people were strong. _He_ was strong. And after only a few moments - moments that felt like an eternity - he stepped forward, picked up the nearest object he could, and hurled it at the Wall.

_And though it's always been with me  
I must tear down the wall and let it be  
All I am and all that I was ever meant to be  
In harmony_

Within moments, the onslaught on the Wall had escalated to a point that the stones stood no chance against the desperation of the people. They threw things, tore with their hands if they had to, anything to bring down the pieces, one by one, until nothing stood in the way of their freedom.

Sure, it was ridiculous to start tearing down the Wall themselves, but it was… Well, it seemed right in Gilbert's mind. They could have climbed over, walked through the gates, anything. They were free to do so. But tearing it down - even just this small section - brought a sense of peace to Gilbert's mind. Like he had torn down his own mental barriers and could remember happiness again, so suddenly that it was painful.

Stepping past the rubble, Gilbert looked back at the land behind him. Then he looked at the Wall himself. And he knew that he would never truly get rid of it. Because it was a part of him now. A terrible, dark part that would torment him for the rest of his long life. But he would overshadow it with good things, he promised himself. And forget about it, the way he had forgotten about everything else in his life while it was in place.

_Shining through  
And smiling back at all who wait to cross_

There were so many people. So very many people rushing to meet each other. And Gilbert was glad to see them all so happy. Every face was smiling. Every eye shed a tear of joy. He felt it, felt the joy as strongly as he had felt the pain, perhaps even more so because it was in such a sudden abundance.

They found him, one by one. All the people he had remembered. They were there, waiting for him. Feliciano hugged him tightly while Lovino gave him a sulky look with a hidden smile. Antonio and Francis bombarded him next, neither wanting to let go. But they did when Ludwig finally reached them. Ludwig's embrace was the tightest of all and Gilbert had to remind him that he was in pain in order to get his brother to let go so he could breathe properly again.

And it made him happy, all this attention, all the love. But there was something missing. Someone. Where was he? The one person Gilbert couldn't really remember. The one person he wanted to see the most at this moment.

Gilbert's crimson eyes scanned the crowd as he pretended to listen to the chatter of his friends and family. Where was he? Could he have forgotten about Gilbert the same way Gilbert had forgotten about him?

Guilt was burning a whole through the Prussian's stomach when he heard a voice behind him that made his eyes widen and his breath catch.

"So you're finally back, are you?"

The words were flippant, but the tone was relieved. And as Gilbert turned, everything else melted away into the background. Because all that mattered was that the man he had been waiting to see was standing right there, smiling at him in such a fond way. Gilbert's heart swelled, and suddenly everything seemed right with the world at last.

"Roderich…"

_There is no loss_


End file.
